Pushing Our Luck! Last Chance High Mountain Brook Trout Campfire Catch & Cook Before the Storm Hits

Firebox Stove
Firebox Stove
469 followers
Nov 1, 2026  #BrookTrout #CatchAndCook #PackGoats

When it's late fall and you're at 11,000 feet the weather can change in a hurry. After a recent mountain storm and a few warmer days, I thought we had a window to take my mountain truck (a Gen 01 Toyota Tundra 4x4 Converted to a D-4D diesel with front and rear air lockers), pack goats and dogs up into the high country for one more remote overnight trout fishing adventure.

But when we reached the top of the mountain, there was a lot more snow than I expected and it was Melting thus flooding sections of the road, washing out others. The long drive to the trailhead was a significant challenge.

We eventually made it, but despite the weather report looking good before I left home, the clouds were thick and dark so checked the satellite weather for that exact spot which showed storms moving in for the next 2 to 3 days.

At 11,000 feet, getting trapped by a major late-fall storm wasn't a chance I wanted to take.

So the overnight camping trip became a day trip adventure with me keeping my fingers crossed that I could have some fun and get off the mountain before the storm started dumping snow.

The pack goats, dogs and I followed a beautiful creek swollen with snowmelt, toward an incredible overlook high above the valley. We worked our way into the forest to find it flooded with icy sections. We climbed. our way through the snowy woods up and over a ridge to find our destination, a remote trout fishing lake where I had originally planned to camp.

The lake did not disappoint!

It was spectacular — and full of fat brook trout!

I managed to catch a beautiful brookie and prepare a high-country catch-and-cook meal using my Firebox Octagon Campfire Stove Kit before it was time to start heading back.

(Here's a link to my safe and secure website where you can find my personally designed or curated camp, cooking, fire stoves, and other gear to complement your next adventure:
https://fireboxstove.com/ )

With daylight disappearing, difficult flooded roads and a major storm approaching, we still had to get ourselves — and the Toyota — safely off the mountain.

We may have been pushing our luck, but it turned into an incredible late-fall adventure with the pack goats and dogs at 11,000 feet.

Mountain weather can change unbelievably fast, and sometimes knowing when not to camp is the most important consideration especially when you have five of your beloved animal friends with you.

Thanks for coming along! Cheers, my friends, Steve

#BrookTrout #CatchAndCook #PackGoats